Conventional communication systems allow the user of a device, such as a personal computer or mobile device, to conduct voice or video calls over a packet-based computer network such as the Internet. Such communication systems include voice or video over internet protocol (VoIP) systems. These systems are beneficial to the user as they are often of significantly lower cost than conventional fixed line or mobile cellular networks. This may particularly be the case for long-distance communication. To use a VoIP system, the user installs and executes client software on their device. The client software sets up the VoIP connections as well as providing other functions such as registration and authentication. In addition to voice communication, the client may also set up connections for other communication media such as instant messaging (“IM”), SMS messaging, file transfer and voicemail.
Recently, internet capabilities and functionality has been integrated into a television set (often referred to as a “Smart TV”), or into a set-top box arranged to be connected to a television set. This includes the integration of client software into a television set to enable communications over a packet-based computer network such as the Internet.
The embedding of a packet-based communication client in a TV has the advantage that a large screen is present, which can be utilised for video calling. Furthermore, significant processing power can be provided in the TV, particular as the power requirements for a large, mains electricity powered consumer electronics device are less stringent than, for example mobile devices. This enables a full range of features to be included in the embedded communication client, such as high quality voice and video encoding.
It is also known to integrate hardware devices into a Smart TV. For example, a microphone may be integrated into a smart TV which are capable of always listening to the environment of the Smart TV (for example a room of a house) to enable the Smart TV to react to voice commands.